The New Warrior
by Whiteheart7
Summary: A Two-leg who wished to be in the world of Warriors, got her wish. She now lives as a warrior in ThunderClan. There's only one problem: How long will it last? Will she be put back into her old life? Or keep living on in her dreams?
1. Chapter 1

I never thought this would happen. I had only hoped. My dream had come true, and now I am living in a world of peace. Dreams come to an end, but my end hasn't come yet. I will live to fight. And fight to live in the world I had wished to be in.

III

Daylight shown brightly on the moors. Dewdrops glistened in the green grass and the wind flowed softly. Green-leaf was beginning to cover the lake's territory, and Two-legs began to appear. Everything was at peace; the cats who lived on the land had no trouble.

A single cat lay stranded on a hill on the moor, unconscious. The cat was pure white, with a honey colored tail tip and heart mark on her chest. She hadn't known how she got there, or why.

The cat began to awaken, feeling wary and confused. She opened her eyes, having her eyes be an unusual dark brown color. She slowly began to lift herself up, her legs being wobbly as if they were barely used. She pushed herself up after many seconds of trying, and then looked around.

Her vision was blurry, from which she didn't know why. She narrowed her eyes to see better, and made out what she was looking at. A large lake lay in front of her, with trees and a mountain being the background. On her right were more woodlands, with another mountain behind it. Her left showed a marshy wetland on the other side of the lake, and she realized she was standing on the moorland. On the edge of the moorland was a Two-leg barn, with a thunderpath right next to it.

The she-cat couldn't understand. _Am I dreaming? _It felt too real to be a dream; though, everything looked familiar. Yet, it had to be a dream if it were to be real._ I thought I was in bed in my house. Why am I here? _

She began walking towards the edge of the lake, but stopped. She noticed that her movement and surroundings have changed. Everything looked huge as if she had shrunk. Scared, she looked at her left hand; at least she thought it was.

She stared at a white paw. Horrified, she looks across her back and her eyes widened to see a tail attached to her. _What? No no no no no what's going on? _She began to breathe quickly, mystified of how she became a _cat. _

It clicked. _What, no. This can't be real. It's impossible. Am I in...Warriors? _A Two-leg, whisked into the world of Warriors? She had declared it was too real to be a dream, and something would have gone strange by now if it were one. Baffled, she continued padding over to the lake, trying to get used to her new functions. She went down the hill she was on, and stepped onto sand which got wetter as she went on. The she-cat stopped right at the edge of the glistening lake, which to her size, looked to go on quite far.

_Why was I sent here? Did StarClan do this? _She looked up into the sky as if she were to see StarClan. Small clouds were scattered around the blue surface, and the sun shined brightly. She had read ever single Warriors book and has known every secret, most cats, and most of the history there ever was. The books had become something: a meaningful part of her life. She would have never expected to be put inside it. Besides how she got inside it, what part of the story was she in? That was important if she were to be here.

But before anything else, there was one thing she had to do: join ThunderClan. It was crazy to think that a clan would even consider to let a Two-leg join. But she was sent here for a reason, and joining a clan seemed like what she was supposed to do. They had brought in many kittypets...including Sol. What if they thought she was like Sol? Then what?

The she-cat gazed across the sun-shined water, then decided to get to ThunderClan territory before anyone spotted her. She walked along the edge of the lake, knowing the rule of having to be within a few tail-lengths outside of the water. She then began contemplating her name, whether or not to call herself her real name, or her picked out warrior name. More and more questions built up as she continued to the border.

Trying to answer the questions, she walked on until she hit the stream that split ThunderClan and WindClan. She decided to wait near the stream until a patrol came by so she could be escorted to the clan, if they let her.

After waiting a few minutes, she looked up at the sun to see it in the position of noon; the clan would probably send out a sunhigh patrol. By any chance when the patrol comes, she won't become too nervous and stutter every word she says.

After a few more minutes, the cat heard leaves rustle at the entrance of the forest. By instinct, she hid behind a nearby bush to her left. _Why did I do that?, _she thought, _Now how am I going to present myself?_

Peeking through the bush, she saw what looked to be three cats, one brownish with white spots, a golden-brown cat, and one large, entirely brown colored cat. She couldn't figure out who was who, since there were so many names and cats. The large cat waved his tail a certain way, and they all went around the area and sniffed for any unusual scents.

After a minute or two, the brown cat looked to have a confused expression on his face. It sniffed a patch of grass a couple times and then waved his tail to beckon the two others. The others sniffed the patch and looked back at the brown cat, also having confused expressions.

The cat with the white spots spoke, in which it had the voice of a she-cat. "Thornclaw, what do you think the scent is?" _So the brown cat is Thornclaw._

Thornclaw said, "I don't know, I've never come across it." He looked over to his right and looked at the golden-brown cat. "What do you think we should do, Lionblaze?" _Lionblaze! And the girl is..._

Lionblaze responded, "I think we should report it to Bramblestar; the scent doesn't smell like any of the clans, nor kittypets or Two-legs." He looked over to the she-cat. "Blossomfall, go back to camp and tell Bramblestar, we'll stay and investigate." Blossomfall nodded and ran off into the forest.

The cat behind the bush thought to herself, I_ don't know if this is the best moment to show myself, but it's so far a good option. Here goes... _Slowly, the she-cat let herself creep out of behind the bush.

Thornclaw and Lionblaze were looking around the area in search of what the she-cat thought was to be her. She didn't know what any scents smelled like, thanks to the lack of human abilities, so she couldn't tell which scent was hers. She jumped across the stream, now being on ThunderClan territory.

After standing for a few seconds, Lionblaze noticed her, flinched from surprise, and raised his fur. He spoke to Thornclaw in a whispering voice saying, "Hey, there's someone here." Thornclaw stopped his search and went over to Lionblaze. They both walked closer to the she-cat, and stopped two tail-lengths away. They both looked like they were going to attack her.

Thornclaw asked in a harsh way, "Where did you come from? We scented you but didn't see you."

Feeling highly nervous, she honestly answered, "I was hiding behind that bush." She worked her tail to point at the bush she was at.

Lionblaze questioned back. "You should have known you weren't supposed to stray over here. Are you here for any reason?"

The cat answered again, failing as she searched for words, "Well...I-I don't know. I don't come from around here. I..." _Goodness, couldn't I have figured out how to answer? This always happens when I try to answer something when the reason is so ridiculous!, s_he scolded herself. She argued back at herself, _No! I _will _find the words to answer._

She tried to answer again, feeling more confident, "I did come here for a reason. I don't live here, and I would explain if the reason wasn't too strange." She then hoped that the two cats wouldn't force her to leave.

Lionblaze showed a confused face to the answer, and Thornclaw looked unsure. Both looked calmer, knowing the cat isn't a threat. Lionblaze responded, "Well, alright." He glanced over to Thornclaw, then back at the she-cat. Lionblaze was going to speak, but Thornclaw interrupted. "Wait, do you know a cat by the name of Sol?"

Not thinking, the she-cat said, "I am not a part of anything Sol is doing." She shut her muzzle before she said anything else. _Oh, no. If I said I didn't know who he was, then it might have turned out better!_

Thornclaw was going to ask again but Lionblaze stopped him. "Maybe I should talk to her if she's going to explain her 'strange' reason." Thornclaw let out a grunt, looking to be reluctantly agreeing, and padded away, probably back to camp.

Lionblaze sat down, watching the cat, and asked, "Well, what's your reason?"

Gulping with fear, the cat answered, "I..." Talking fast, she burst out the reason of how she came. "I didn't walk here; I somehow appeared on the moor not knowing how I did, then realized I appeared here, where the clans are. I decided it would be best to hopefully stay in ThunderClan to figure out why I'm here." During her hasty explanation, she began to pace. "And I promise I am no where a part of Sol. I know what he did and it was for the stupidest reasons to. And why I appeared on the moor? I don't know. At first I thought I was in bed as my normal self but instead I turned into a cat!" The she-cat panted from her explanation. She went on. "No, I wasn't a cat at first, I was a _Human!_ How do I know about ThunderClan? Because this entire place is based on a book! I have read every book and know every secret, strategy, and...and..." She stopped herself from going on even further, and then realized she had been pacing back and forth without knowing. She stopped and looked at Lionblaze.

He looked completely stunned. The she-cat panted, and sat down waiting for an answer. Silence seemed to come and the only sound was the wind picking up leaves.

Lionblaze looked like he was thinking, then looked up as the white cat said, "Crazy, right? And sorry for the long explanation, I do that when I'm nervous, and I end up being one-hundred percent honest to prove my innocence or something like that."

Lionblaze finally spoke. "Yeah, weird. About how you came, it sounds like something StarClan would do." He paused, then asked, "What's your name?"

The she-cat responded after thinking, "You can call me Whiteheart. It's a name that I chose for myself because of how much I enjoyed reading Warriors." Lionblaze nodded.

The warrior got up and asked a final question. "Do you want to visit ThunderClan? Your appearance could mean something."

Trying to keep her excitement down, said, "I would love to." She smiled and followed Lionblaze into the forest.

Sunlight streamed through the high up branches and dotted the two cat's pelts. The wind twirled the leaves around and rustled the branches, sometimes sending pink blossoms to shower onto the ground. _It must be spring, or in this case, New-leaf. _A nearby stream flowed down a bank, going towards the lake. _I think that's the stream that got dried up because of the beavers. _Leaves crunched under the pawsteps of the two as they entered a path which had a view of the entrance of the camp. _What in the name of StarClan will the other cats think if another 'cat' joins? I hope I don't get too nervous or scared or anything..._

The two got to the walkway that leads into the gorge. Whiteheart could see cats walk around the camp: elders, kits, warriors, apprentices, and others. They walked to the thorn barrier and squeezed past it into the camp. It was far more crowded than it looked from far away. She whispered 'sorry' and 'excuse me' as she walked past staring cats while following Lionblaze. She heard conversations like queens telling their kits commands and elders speaking to apprentices. Whiteheart kept walking, then noticed she had gotten to the leader's den, having the entrance located on top of the rock pile with the ledge.

Lionblaze said, "Wait here." Then he climbed up the rock pile and went into the den. Whiteheart heard talking up in the den, but nothing harsh. She looked around and saw some cats glancing over to her and whispering about her. The cat felt like she was going to die of embarrassment. This all made her feel extremely uncomfortable with every cat watching her.

Eventually she heard pawsteps come from up top. Lionblaze came down from the den and Bramblestar peeked out after him. Bramblestar stood halfway out of his den and looked at Whiteheart. She also noticed that most of everyone were either looking at the leader, or the new comer. Bramblestar dipped his head to Whiteheart, signaling for her to come in. She clumsily climbed up the rock pile and went through the hole into a small, dim cave.

The cave was big enough to fit three, maybe four, cats at a time, and the only thing in it was a nest to sleep in. Bramblestar laid down in his nest while Whiteheart sat down a few mouse-lengths from the entrance.

The brown-black tabby leader spoke. "Welcome to ThunderClan Whiteheart. Lionblaze told me what you told him, about how you got here. You might be able to stay here for a while, if the clan doesn't make too much of a complaint about it. But before I announce your arrival here, I'll ask you a few questions."

Whiteheart responded, "Well, ask away."

"First off, what do you mean by, 'you are a Two-leg'?"

The she-cat responded, "Because I am? I just was one, then somehow when I was going to sleep in my bed-I mean nest-I just then fell asleep and woke up here. I have always wondered what it would be like to have the life of a warrior, and I guess StarClan answered my prayers."

Bramblestar nodded, then asked, "When you said you, well, _read _something to know us and everything here, what were you talking about?"

"One of the things Two-legs like to do is write. Writing is using a written language. You know how you speak your cat language? Well we have ours, and we use symbols like this," She picked up her right paw and somehow figured out how to unsheathe her claws. She then used the left most claw to make the letter 'B' on some of the dirt on the floor. After showing it, she erased it by sweeping the dirt. "to make letters. Then we made twenty-five more to make written words. We make each letter to have a sound, then combine them to make each word work. And what I read was a book. A book is an object full of words, it can be informational or made up, depending on what kind it is."

Bramblestar looked astonished. "Wow, I didn't know Two-legs were like that. I thought they were just clumsy, mouse-brained animals."

Whiteheart decided not to take any offense to that. "Well, we're not."

"One last thing: if you know everything, then you know the past as well?"

The white cat nodded. "Yes, and I won't say anything because it's either someone else's secret, you wouldn't know, or it's too sad to mention."

The leader nodded in respect of the she-cat's decision. "Alright then. I guess I can hold a clan meeting now. Go stand to the right of the rock pile so every cat can see you." Whiteheart got up and dipped her head.

Whiteheart walked out of the den and climbed down the pile to the right and sat down. Bramblestar walked out after her and stood on the ledge. He spoke the traditional call. "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join here beneath the Highledge for a clan meeting!"

Almost every cat was outside, so they moved closer to the Highledge and looked at either Bramblestar or Whiteheart. The white she-cat felt like she wanted to sink into the ground. Being put in front of an audience was worse than being looked at. When everyone was seated, which included kits, everything turned quiet.

Bramblestar started the meeting. "I have called this meeting to discuss something that has happened on a sunhigh patrol. This she-cat, who says to be called Whiteheart, was found saying she was brought here by StarClan. After talking to her about why she is here, I have decided to let her stay." Whispers of a mix of refusal and inquiry began to arouse from the crowd.

One cat, a tom by the sound of it, shouted to Bramblestar, "Why are you letting her join? Why is she so important?"

Another cat said, "She doesn't have a reason of being here even if she is from StarClan!"

Whiteheart tried to look unhurt, and began to nervously scrape the ground with unsheathed claws. Bramblestar answered over the yelling. "She has said she came from StarClan because she was a Two-leg at first." Shock coursed through the crowd and they gasped, and then became quiet. "This may mean something to the clans, and we can't make the mistake of leaving her out there. I will let her stay for three sunrises for any signs to explain why she is here." The clan then got up from sitting and went on with whatever they were doing.

Bramblestar went down the rocks to Whiteheart, and talked to her. "I'm sorry you can't stay any longer. I don't want to upset the clan too much. I just became leader half a moon ago and-"

"Wait!" Whiteheart interrupted him. "The battle between you guys and the dark forest happened two weeks ago? That's after Dovewing's Silence and..." She stopped talking, realizing Bramblestar wouldn't know what she was saying. "I mean...when I say two weeks I mean half a moon and when I said Dovewing's Silence, I mean it was a book after the battle." She paused, and then said, "Oh, yes, right. You're still trying to follow in Firestar's foot-I mean paw steps. You'll get the hang of it."

Bramblestar had half understanding look, but didn't question it. "Right." He moved on to another subject. "The other thing I wanted to say is I wanted to see your battle and hunting skills. I'll show you to the mossy clearing."

They immediately went off to the clearing, in which Whiteheart hoped to be empty. They didn't have to walk very far, and the walkway was filled more with roots and rocks than the one she took to camp. She almost tripped a few times because of not knowing how to properly work like a cat. _Great, now that I'm a cat I don't have actual thumbs, or Two-leg-like legs. And I can't grab anything with my paws! At least there's more good things to say, like having a tail, better senses..._Whiteheart kept talking to herself inside her head most of the way to the clearing, like most times.

Eventually they got to the clearing. As she had pictured it, it was a very large clearing with moss covering and cushioning the ground. Trees hung over the area, and it was also quiet. Bramblestar walked to the other side of the clearing with Whiteheart following.

The leader positioned himself in a seat-like root of a tree, and Whiteheart stood in front of him. Bramblestar started the test. "Of course, you'll need a mentor for everything, but I want to see if you are fit for clan life." He got up and stood in front of Whiteheart. "Try to attack me in any way. But, I will defend myself."

Whiteheart nodded. She analyzed what she could do: she could go straight at him but he could easily dodge her. Maybe she could do this...

Figuring out which functions to use, Whiteheart aimed for her left of him, then pounced, turning her head to the right. Bramblestar jumped to his right, but as soon as Whiteheart landed she pounced to her right. She forcefully pushed over Bramblestar, then he hit the soft ground and Whiteheart held him down with her front paws. After that she let him get up, backing away. _That felt...cool, in a way. I hope I didn't hurt him!_

When Bramblestar got up, he said, "You're good, for a Two-leg. I think you'll be quite a fighter."

Whiteheart smiled. "Thanks. I used logic to figure that out actually; I figured you were going to move to your left if I purposely missed, which would catch you off guard a bit. That would be an advantage for me when I turn to push you over."

"Clever." Bramblestar took a few steps towards the exit. "Now, you seem to know how to fight; let's go see if you can catch a mouse."

Whiteheart nodded, then followed him out. New-leaf was a convenient time for hunting, since preys' newborn kits would be running around the forest, even if the season was at its end. Bramblestar led her to the stream that flowed to the lake. This would be good because the stream would be a slight sound, and it would partially sound over paw steps. Plus, prey would be near water to drink it often.

Bramblestar began walking to a bush a little far from the stream, and said, "I'll be watching you from over here." He then went to the bush and hid behind it.

Whiteheart then began to sniff around, not smelling anything at first. After a few seconds she began to pick up something. She began to walk downstream, following a trail of the faint scent and keeping her nose close to the ground. The scent started to become stronger as she went. She then stopped, and looked around to see a small squirrel digging at the ground.

Whiteheart tried to remember some techniques about how to hunt. _First, I need to check the wind. _She then stood still and tried to feel which direction the wind was going. It was flowing to the right of her, and since the squirrel was about five tail-lengths in front of her, it couldn't scent her. She then lowered herself, and carefully crawled along the stream, which was on the right of her. _  
_

She concentrated her movement on her paws, making sure she didn't hit a rock or snap a twig. She was about to be close enough to catch the squirrel, but she hadn't paid attention to her tail, which began to drag on the ground. The squirrel got alarmed, and ran up a nearby tree. _Dang it! _She didn't bother trying to chase it, knowing she couldn't outrun it up a tree.

Bramblestar came out of a bush, and went over to Whiteheart. Whiteheart didn't feel bad, she could tell how she was doing well at first. The leader then said, "Well, it seems as though you're good enough for a mentor. Let's get back to camp, shall we?" He then led the way back.

When they both got back to camp, almost every cat was looking at her with either curiosity or annoyance. Whiteheart tried not to lower her head or unsheathe her claws from being watched. Whiteheart sat down to the left most side of camp, while Bramblestar scrambled up the Highledge and called a meeting.

Everyone, apparently waiting outside, gathered and settled down; Bramblestar then spoke. "I have tested Whiteheart to see if she is fit for clan life. She has shown what little she can do, and I believe she is good enough to become an apprentice out of what I have seen. She will be known as Whitepaw until she earns her original name. I have decided her mentor will be Millie." He looked over to who is now Whitepaw. "Your training, Whitepaw, will start tomorrow at sunhigh." The meeting ended, and everyone went on to somewhere else. No one chanted Whitepaw over and over.

Whitepaw thought to herself, _Millie as a mentor won't be so bad. Other than my mentor, I'm just glad I was able to join ThunderClan. And the meeting seemed short, what happened to the traditional speech? I'll ask Bramblestar later. Anyway, everyone will eventually accept me, like they did with Millie and Daisy. But how long will it take for them to accept a Two-leg?_

The question hung in her mind for a second more, before she got up, and began walking to the apprentices' den.


	2. Chapter 2

Whitepaw got up and started to walk away to the apprentices den. She was able to locate it by recognizing two young cats walking back and forth in a cave. She went towards the cave and peeked in. One brown and cream colored apprentice was pawing at a destroyed nest. _Oh yeah, since the battle was two weeks ago, everyone has been trying to repair the camp. Maybe I should help. _Another cat, a ginger one, was also fixing a nest.

Whitepaw introduced herself. "Um, Hi. I'm Whitepaw, the cat who was found at the border. So, can I help any of you with the nests?"

The ginger cat looked over to her. "Oh, sure! And why did Bramblestar say you were a Twoleg? That's really weird!" Her voice was a she-cat's.

The creamy brown cat then said, "Don't listen to my sister; she's the one that's weird. I'm Molepaw, by the way. And she's Cherrypaw."

Cherrypaw turned to her brother. "Hey!"

"It's true! Once you almost pushed me in the lake, but instead I was pushed into some mud! Then you said to Foxleap a squirrel did it!"

Whitepaw giggled. "Okay, I think you guys should get back to work. So, what do I do?"

Molepaw answered, "Cherrypaw and I built the bracken bases, now all we need to do is put some moss on each nest. There's a pile of moss right next to you."

"Okay." Whitepaw then looked to her right to see the pile. She took about a fifth of it off and attempted to carry it with her right paw. _Oh, right. I can't use my hands to carry anymore. I have to use my mouth._

She then reluctantly grabbed the moss with her teeth and carried it to the closest unfinished nest. She placed the moss on the ground. _Yuck! That'll take some getting used to. _Whitepaw then looked at the nest. It looked to be too big for each piece of moss. _I bet the question I'm about to ask is a ridiculous one__. _"Hey, Molepaw. How much moss do I lay out on each nest?"

Molepaw had began laying out moss in a nest next to hers, and looked up at her when she asked her question. "Well, wouldn't you know any way?" Whitepaw shook her head. "Are you saying you really were a Twoleg?" Whitepaw nodded again. "Woah! That's way cool! What's it like being a one?"

Cherrypaw interrupted from the other side of the room and looked at Molepaw. "Don't be bugging her with questions! We need to get this done!" Molepaw, annoyed, grunted. She then looked over to Whitepaw. "All you have to do is lay out moss in any place needed. You don't have to completely cover it in moss, just in places that a cat would lay down in." Cherrypaw then went back to putting moss in the nest she was at.

Whitepaw then ripped a piece of moss out of her chunk and placed it randomly on the nest. Then again, and again, and again. Eventually, her nest looked complete. She looked around and only saw Molepaw in the cave, who had moved to a different nest to work on.

Whitepaw asked, "Where's Cherrypaw?"

Molepaw answered with out looking up. "She went to go get more moss." He then looked up and glanced at Whitepaw's nest. "You did pretty good for a first time. But I suggest a little less moss next time, since we don't want to waste a lot of it."

Whitepaw was glad she didn't mess up much, but was confused. "Then what does a regular nest look like?"

Molepaw pointed his tail to the nest he had finished not long before. Whitepaw looked; the nest, to her, looked as if it had too little moss. But, she had to get used to having a less cushioning bed now that she is here. "Then I guess who ever gets this nest would be lucky."

"Yeah." replied the cream colored apprentice.

"I'm back." A muffled voice said outside. Cherrypaw came in the den carrying in a large ball of moss, than placed it on the small pile.

The three began to continue on with the nests for the rest of the day. Whitepaw had finished a second nest, then had taken a break when dusk was about to fall. Molepaw and Cherrypaw had finished around the same time as Whitepaw, and chose their nests. Whitepaw decided on one that was left-most in the cave.

Whitepaw walked outside, and looked around. Shadow covered the clearing, signaling it was sunset. The sky was orange with the sun setting over the trees.

Now that she was noticing the place, she had realized that the place was still somewhat a mess. The elder den, which she figured out was the one with the one cat, was still having work being done to it. The warriors den was huge according to the books, so of course it was still in need of construction. Whitepaw would probably ask to help tomorrow if she had time.

Cats were still out but many of them have gone to their dens to rest for the night. The moon began to show and the sun had just dipped down past the trees. Stars dotted the dark sky, and were now referred to as ancestors to her. Whitepaw looked up. _Should I tell them about astronomy? Maybe it will confuse the clan cats into thinking that stars aren't actually supposed to represent cats. _

The she-cat felt her stomach growl with hunger. _Fresh kill shouldn't taste that bad, let me just see. _She walked over to the fresh-kill pile, which looked stocked pretty well to her. She looked at the pile and spotted a bird, then picked it up. She carried the prey over to the rock wall a few fox-lengths away from the elders den, and sat down.

Without trying to hesitate, she took a bite from it. _Well, I could get used to it, it's close to cooked meat. I guess. _As she continued eating, she wondered what things the cats would react to. _I wonder what the cats will think about singing and songs. It would be cool if one of these cats could sing. But I probably shouldn't tell them too much about Twoleg things, it might make things odd._

Whitepaw finished off the bird, then left it there from her spot. She then walked back to the apprentices den across the almost-empty, moon lit clearing. The she-cat peaked in the cave and saw Cherrypaw and Molepaw were settled in their nests. She quietly made her way to her nest and curled up in it.

Since the day was almost all work, she fell asleep within ten minutes. At first her sleep was nothing but darkness, but then it started transforming into a scenery. A forest started to appear under a bright, starry sky. Whiteheart was standing in a somewhat clear grassy area with the view of the moon up high.

_Where am I? _Whitepaw was about to go wander around when a bush rustled up ahead. She stayed put as two cats came out and seated themselves in front of the she-cat. One cat was ginger, and the other was gray.

The gray cat spoke first. "Greetings, Whitepaw. I am Bluestar. Welcome to StarClan."

Whitepaw immediately got excited. _I'm meeting Bluestar? In StarClan? This is amazing! _Whitepaw controlled her excitement and sat down. She waited for what the former leader had to say.

The ginger cat then said, "I am Firestar. We have called you to StarClan to discuss your time in this world."_ Firestar? This is so cool! _

Bluestar continued on. "What we must say first, is that you were granted here for two reasons: so you may explore what you have desired, and so you could learn one of the many valuable lessons."

Whitepaw understood there was going to be a catch, but she wouldn't have guessed a lesson. She couldn't think at the moment when Firestar went on for Bluestar. "You will also go back to your Twoleg life on a certain day. We will not tell you, but is when you learn that lesson. You may tell Bramblestar this information when you wake up." The two cats said nothing more, and left through the way they came.

When they left, Whitepaw was still in StarClan territory. She waited for a moment, but she was still there. Figuring that she would be there for a while, she began to walk around and think of what the lesson might be. _Loyalty? No. Friendship? No! Why would friendship be the lesson? Um...how about...oh, I don't know! _She kept pacing around.

After about five minutes of walking and thinking, a mouse ran out into the clearing. Instinctivly, she let it cross her path, then grabbed onto it with her right paw. She crushed it instead of biting its neck and the rodent stopped moving. She first felt shocked, but then a small wave of accomplishment covered her. _I guess I sort of made my first catch._

Afterwards, a tabby gray cat came into the area. Whitepaw looked over to the cat and let go of the mouse, figuring it was the gray cat's. The tom looked over to the dead mouse, then back at Whitepaw and nodded. "Thank you. I thought I might've lost it." He went to go pick the fresh-kill up, but paused as he looked at the she-cat again. "Wait, I've never seen you before. Might you be that so-called Twoleg Firestar has mentioned?"

Whitepaw nodded. As the cat took his prey, she recognized more details about him. She then said to him, "Wait, are you...Ashfur?"

He dropped his prey and looked back at her. "Yeah. Why do you ask?"

"Oh, I was just wondering." To not make it sound odd, she added, "I don't know many of these cats by looks or scent. The books only described what you guys look like, not actual pictures, much."

"I see." Ashfur took his prey and left. Whitepaw was alone again.

_Well, I guess I should go back to..., _She trailed off her thought as she noticed the forest turning fuzzy. Confused, Whitepaw blinked a couple times, and found herself back in her nest, awake. At first she thought she was back home in her bed surrounded by her toys. But when she saw the rock walls of the apprentice den, she remembered.

The den was somewhat bright, and noise was heard outside the den entrance. Whitepaw sat up and looked around the den. Molepaw and Cherrypaw were nowhere in the room, so they were to have probably gone out with their mentors. Whitepaw stood up, and walked to the entrance to see the time of day.

Outside, the clearing was less crowded than the day before. Cats were either doing repairs to dens, or doing daily chores or duties. Whitepaw peeked her head out the den, and looked up. She squinted her eyes to block out the sunshine, and saw the sun a small ways from it being sunhigh. Whitepaw sighed in relief that she hadn't slept into her training time.

She walked outside and over to the fresh-kill pile. She picked up what looked to be a robin and seated herself in the same place as last night. While she was eating, she looked around to see who she could recognize. She saw one slow-going cat who was slightly plump, and had ragged, brown fur. He also had a very gray muzzle. _It must be an elder...let's see...Longtail died when a tree fell in the hollow, and Mousefur died in the Great Battle. So it has to be Purdy._

She looked around a bit more and saw a gray cat walking out of a cave. He was carrying a plant in his jaw. _That must be Jayfeather. _She went on, and figured out Brightheart and Berrynose. She giggled when she remembered the warrior name the apprentices called Berrynose when he was about to receive his name. _Berrystumpytail? That is the most funniest name ever! _She kept on looking around until she finished her robin.

When she got up, a tabby, silver-gray cat came up to her and said, "There you are Whitepaw! I'm Millie, your mentor." Whitepaw was confused, but then remembered what cat Bramblestar had put her with.

Whitepaw greeted her shyly. "Er...hi. Um...so, what are we going to do first?"

Millie replied, "I believe I first show you the territory first. After that, we can do some battle training." Whitepaw nodded and followed her mentor out.

They both walked out of the camp and began to head to a certain place in the forest.

On the way, Millie asked, "Since you claim that you know about us, do you know the territory?"

Whitepaw tried to remember the map that contained all the places in ThunderClan. "Well, I remember WindClan and ShadowClan are neighbors, there's an abandoned Two-leg nest somewhere around here, and there's a Two-leg path?"

Millie nodded. "That's correct. And there's also the Sky Oak. Do you remember that?"

Whitepaw nodded, then said, "I remember, that's the tree Cinderheart fell from."

Millie flinched at the response. Whitepaw quickly said, "Um, sorry. I just, um, sorry."

The silver cat shook her head. "No, no, it's fine. Let's continue."

They then went on and walked to the Sky Oak. It was clearly tall, which was exactly how it got its name. Whitepaw gazed at it for a bit before Millie continued the tour. They then went to the other places such as the abandoned Twoleg nest and the path. Since Whitepaw had already been to the WindClan border, Millie took her to the ShadowClan border.

When they got there, Whitepaw remembered how Ivypool got tricked into telling Firestar to fight for the clearing that separated the two clans. Now that she was looking at the actual place, she realized that it _was_ a pretty useless fight.

After the tour, Millie began to take her to the mossy clearing for a training session. They both still didn't begin a conversation, and Whitepaw didn't mind, knowing how strange it must be to talk to a Twoleg. It didn't take long to get to the clearing, and when they did they saw that Molepaw and Cherrypaw were also there with their mentors, Foxleap and Rosepetal. Whitepaw and Millie skirted the area to avoid the others and then went to an unoccupied section of the area.

Millie stopped and turned around to face Whitepaw, then began the training session. "To start, you'll need to learn basic skills, such as paw swipes and being able to pin down your opponent. Let's begin."

Millie began to teach Whitepaw many simple moves; the paw swipe being the easiest. It was hard for the apprentice not to unsheathe her claws, since she was enjoying the thought of being able to fight. Whitepaw even got to work with the two other apprentices to do practice defense fights. Whitepaw learned to do most of the basic skills, but knew she would forget them all since there were so many. She practiced until the sun was a few hours away to sunset.

Millie finished up the battle training. "I think we've done plenty today, you may go ahead and get back to camp." Whitepaw agreed. She felt like she could fall over any minute. "Meet me back here tomorrow at sunhigh. But you can come here early if you want." Whitepaw nodded as Millie began to walk back to camp with the other mentors.

When Whitepaw was about to head out and follow the mentors back to camp, Molepaw and Cherrypaw stopped her. "Wait!" yelled Molepaw. "We want to tell you about the clan, since your new. And you can tell us about you! You know, how it's like to be a Twoleg."

Whitepaw replied, "Sure, but you guys should lead me. I don't exactly think I remember the path back yet."

"Of course." Molepaw led her on, and Cherrypaw walked beside the older she-cat.

Cherrypaw asked a few questions before Molepaw could tell about how ThunderClan was managing. "What's it like being a Twoleg? Do you have apprentice duties like us?"

Whitepaw answered. "To answer you're first question, I guess I could say being a Twoleg can be a bit tough. It's similar to clan life. And yes, I have duties. But instead of having a mentor, their called teachers. Young Two-legs have to be sent somewhere with a bunch of other apprentices, which are called students, and be taught by the same teacher."

Cherrypaw eye's widened. "One mentor has to teach many apprentices? How does the teacher handle all of them?"

"Teachers have strict rules. And if you break a rule, you may have to sit in a room for a while. It's called detention, and many students don't want it. So, most of them follow the rules." She added, "Plus, they don't want their parents to punish them either."

Molepaw asked, "Now that you've explained your training system, do you need to know anything about ThunderClan?"

Whitepaw thought for a second. "I don't think there's anything I need to know, unless you know what's happening six moons from now."

Cherrypaw went on with her questions. "Do you have to do stuff in your nest, like chores?"

"Yes, many of them in fact. If I were to own one, then I would have to wash clothing, clean the dishes, clean the house-" She paused when she noticed she had said 'clothing', 'dishes', and 'house'.

Whitepaw looked to Cherrypaw, and the apprentice looked confused. Whitepaw explained. "Twolegs call dens a house, clothing is what Twolegs put on over their skin, and dishes are items we eat food on."

Molepaw turned his head around and responded, "You have odd names for things. Do you do anything else other than work?"

"Of course. But there are too many to say and you wouldn't know what they are." After she had answered, she looked around and saw that it was getting dark. Molepaw was still leading, and had led them back to camp.

Whitepaw and the two others split up when they entered the clearing. Not many cats were out, and Bramblestar was on the Highledge looking across the area. Whitepaw then remembered the dream she had where Firestar and Bluestar came to her and said why she came here. The she-cat recalled when the two said she could tell the dream to Bramblestar. Whitepaw decided she should just tell him now instead of waiting until morning.

She walked across the clearing and to the leader's den. She looked up and waited for Bramblestar to notice her there. When he did, Whitepaw asked, "Bramblestar, could I talk to you for a moment?"

Bramblestar nodded. "Sure. Come inside my den."

Whitepaw obeyed, and climbed up the rock pile. She went inside the cave and explained. "I know I should have told you this morning, but I had to go out and train with my mentor." Bramblestar nodded as he sat down in his nest. The apprentice went on. "Last night I had a dream. Firestar and Bluestar came to me and told me how I got here: to learn a lesson. They didn't tell me what, but I am not able to leave until I learn whatever I have to."

Bramblestar thought, then responded. "Odd. StarClan has never done anything like this. I guess this means you must stay in ThunderClan, since you really were suppose to come here." He then added, "I will announce to the clan on the third sunrise that you're arrival will be permanent here." He ended the conversation. "If that is all, you may go."

Whitepaw dipped her head, and walked out of the den. She was happy she wasn't going to leave and that she could enjoy being a clan cat for a while.

She began to think again about what Firestar and Bluestar were talking about while on her way to the fresh-kill pile. It would be something serious, something that she specifically would have to learn. _Let me go back to the ones I thought up. I don't need help on loyalty, nor friendship. Kindness? No. Honesty? No. I have no idea!_

She was so deep in her thoughts that she didn't notice a cat was walking in front of her. The two cats bumped each other in the head and backed away. The other cat angrily said, "Hey, watch where you're going!"_  
_

"Sorry, I didn't see you." Whitepaw looked up and saw that it was Jayfeather.

Jayfeather looked back up, confused, then asked, "Wait. Are you Whitepaw?"

Whitepaw nodded, but then remembered he was blind and said, "Yes."

Jayfeather said, harshly, "Next time you walk somewhere, be careful." He walked away.

_That was mean._ Whitepaw continued walking to the fresh-kill pile. She got to it and this time picked up a small squirrel. She went to her usual spot, sat down, and tasted the prey. It was different from a bird but wasn't too bad.

While she was eating, the picture of Jayfeather popped up in her mind. When she had read the Omen of the Stars, Jayfeather had become her favorite cat. She didn't know why, she just had him as her favorite. Her second being Graystripe. _Why did that conversation come up? Oh, whatever._

She finished her fresh-kill and went to the apprentice's den. She went in to see Molepaw and Cherrypaw in their nests, but not asleep. They were both chatting about something, but Whitepaw didn't bother to listen. She went to her nest and settled in it.

She was about to try to sleep when Cherrypaw began talking to her. "Hey Whitepaw! Can I ask you another question? Only one!"

Whitepaw tiredly lifted her head up and looked at Cherrypaw, and answered, "Alright. What's your question?"

"Do Twolegs do anything for fun at night?"

_Weird question to ask right now, but I'll answer. _"Yeah. Adult Twolegs might go to somewhere fun, and young Two-legs usually don't do anything, unless you count sleep-overs or bedtime stories."

Cherrypaw looked confused, and Whitepaw realized she used words the apprentice didn't understand. Whitepaw explained. "A sleep-over is when a Twoleg from one house goes to another's for one night, and they usually stay up most of the night. A bedtime story is when an adult Twoleg tells a story to a young Twoleg before he or she goes to sleep."

Molepaw overheard Whitepaw and said, "Could it be possible you could tell us one?"

Whitepaw yawned. "Maybe another night. I'm tired from today."

Whitepaw curled up and put her tail over her nose. She closed her eyes, and almost immediately fell asleep. She would have to get used to long days, but it would all be worth it.

**YES! I'M DONE WITH THIS CHAPTER! I am so very sorry it took me over a month to write this chapter. I got stuck somewhere and some paragraphs got deleted which made me not want to do it but HERE I AM! And I can't wait to get the Bramblestar's Storm book so I can get the allegiances and see who needs to be turned into warriors and who apprentices and who mentors and a bunch of other stuff. I'm just happy I got done with this. **

**Anyway, summer is almost over and I will have to go back to Crazyland, aka school, soon. Another thing to clarify, when Whitepaw was a Twoleg, she was around 14 or 15. Well, I'll be back. Bye!**


	3. Chapter 3

Whitepaw woke up right before dawn. She blinked her eyes open, and looked around the cave. The same two apprentices were there, and nothing much was happening outside. She tried to go back to sleep, but she ended up just laying there, staring into space. She had been there for a week, or in this case, a quarter moon.

Whitepaw had the same routine for the two days after her first training day. She trained, and layed low back at camp. On the third day she was there, she started to practice hunting. She had a tough time with that since she had to pay attention to her movement and surroundings. The hardest part about that was that she had to figure out which scents belonged to what.

On the fourth day, the final day she would have to prove why she had to stay, Bramblestar made his announcement. "StarClan has spoken," he had said, "and Whitepaw must stay with ThunderClan." The clan argued, but Bramblestar didn't back down or change his mind. Whitepaw received glares from most cats for the rest of the day.

She became friends with Molepaw and Cherrypaw, since they didn't mind being with a Twoleg-turned cat. Whitepaw appreciated their kindness and told things about her times of being a Twoleg. She explained things like what Twolegs do, and why they do things that they just do. She also explained technology, including what a 'monster' really was.

Whitepaw got up and stretched, and then decided to get up and take a walk in the forest. She quietly got out of her nest and made her way to the entrance. She walked outside and started padding across the clearing. Cool morning air went through her fur, though no wind was blowing at the moment. The sun wasn't quite in the sky yet, and clouds shifted above in the dark background.

She walked past the barrier and out into the dim forest. She had partially memorized the ways to get back to camp but would have still needed a bit of guidance. She would only go down the path to the Sky Oak, like she had done once while she was here. She decided it would be a nice place for her to be alone before anyone was awake.

She went down the path to the Sky Oak and glanced around the forest for anything that looks interesting, or for any prey she should could try to catch. When she got to tree, she walked near the edge of the water and layed down.

She began to think back on her days of being there. Nothing much had happened; the clan still wasn't comfortable with her, no other clans were bothering the ThunderClan, and training was usual. She had been telling stories to Molepaw and Cherrypaw, who still weren't warriors, and they enjoyed her company.

Out of nowhere, the image of Jayfeather came back. _Why do I keep...oh. I remember. _When she was reading the books, she got another fictional crush; this time, having it be Jayfeather. She didn't know why, it just happened. Ever since that happened, she had been daydreaming how it would all play out if they both ever had the same feelings. But now that she was here, what will happen?

She drifted off into her thought when something caught her attention. A vole scampered from under one of the tree's roots and near the water a few fox-lengths away from Whitepaw. She got on all fours and began stalking it. She might've had a bit of trouble with hunting, but she would be able to catch something if she were lucky.

She slowly went towards it while it was distracted in the water. She was close enough to catch it when a small wave came and splashed all over the vole. The prey scampered off up the Sky Oak and vanished.

_Mousedung! _Whitepaw laid back down, annoyed. She was thinking about going to look around in the forest when she noticed something drifting in the water. It looked to be a regular stick, but what caught her attention were its marks. She got suspicious and looked closer to it. _Could it be...?_

She went over to it, but she couldn't see it clearly with it bobbing around. She picked it up out of the water with her mouth and laid it back down. Scratches carefully clawed in the stick were marked all over it. And one end of it was jagged as if it had been broken. But it _was_ broken; it was the record branch.

_I wonder where the other piece is. _She didn't want to lose it, so she picked it up again and went over to the Sky Oak. She walked around the tree until she found a hole under one of it's roots. Whitepaw inserted it in, then began to cover it with dirt so no one could find it.

After she did so, she went back to the edge of the lake to see if the other piece was floating around somewhere. It was nowhere to be seen. She then went into the forest to try to find some prey.

It was now exactly dawn, and the sun was barely visible in the trees. The sky was a mixture of blue and yellow with faded stars showing. She walked for a bit before hearing rustling on the other side of a bush.

She went into a hunter's crouch and creeped toward the bush. She looked past the bush to see where exactly the prey was. But instead of seeing a small animal, she saw Jayfeather, who looked to be searching for herbs. He wasn't facing her and was prodding a leafy plant.

She backed away to not bother him, but her ear scraped against one of the bush's stems. Jayfeather looked up and turned around. Whitepaw froze. Jayfeather sniffed the air, and said, "Whitepaw?"

She didn't know what to say, so she replied with, "Um, yeah?"

Jayfeather gave a confused look. "Er...what are you doing?"

"Oh, uh, I was just hunting. I thought there was a squirrel around here or something."

Jayfeather casually responded, "Oh, well, there isn't. You should continue elsewhere."

"Yeah, I'll do that." The she-cat backed away and walked to a different area of the forest. _Well that was awkward..._, she thought.

She continued her hunt and luckily caught two small mice. She headed back to the camp and deposited her prey in the fresh-kill pile. She was walking to the apprentices den when out of nowhere, Blossomfall came up to Whitepaw.

Blossomfall said, "Hey, Whitepaw. I was thinking maybe you could join a border patrol with me at sunset? You know, to have a bit more experience of being a clan cat." Whitepaw hesitated for a moment.

On border patrols, the main thing was to sniff out any unusual scents and to renew the border. She could barely tell two scents apart and could make the mistake frequently. And renewing the border didn't sound like something she wanted to do. Plus, being in a group with cats she only knew by reading about them would feel like she would be with strangers.

Whitepaw declined. "No thanks. I don't think I want to be on a border patrol just yet."

Blossomfall looked confused. "It's not that complicated. A Twoleg knowing about us and our lives would probably know what to do." she said with a half harsh, half jokingly tone.

Whitepaw calmly said, "It's not the same as actually being here. Plus I would feel a bit pressure for having to make sure there's no weird scents. And I don't know many scents. And about me knowing everything, it's not like I'm going to tell everyone's secrets to the world. Since I didn't expect this place to exist, I wouldn't have really thought about how you guys would react."

"Oh, I guess you're right. And sorry, knowing how you practically spied on our lives is kind of...disturbing." Blossomfall admitted.

Whitepaw could see how that could weird to know. She replied, "Well, I can't exactly say I'm sorry. I liked reading about your lives, that's pretty much what a book is: entertainment." Blossomfall gasped, and Whitepaw added, "But I took the series seriously. Like when there's death or when other serious stuff happens. I pretty much honored this world. I even wanted StarClan to exist back home."

Blossomfall looked shocked. "How could a Twoleg show such respect? Even for something that cannot exist in your world?"

The white she-cat shrugged. "As cats have said, Twolegs are strange. Strange enough to honor made-up worlds. But if you think that's weird, try watching the things Twolegs do. They invent all sorts of crazy things to do."

"Crazier than a kittypet life? I don't think so."

From that moment they started a conversation. Whitepaw and Blossomfall talked until all of their clanmates were out of their dens. Some cats stared at them as if amazed that the Twoleg-turned cat was talking to a clan cat. As if instantly, the two became friends.

While laying down in the center of the camp and eating fresh-kill, Whitepaw having a squirrel and Blossomfall having a vole, they were on the subject of education. "You have to learn all of that? And I thought being a warrior was hard work." Blossomfall said surprised.

"Yeah, six subjects with many categories. At least we don't have to train to fight." Whitepaw explained, then took a bite of her squirrel.

The dappled cat responded, "You don't? But you have to fight sometime! There has to be disagreements."

Whitepaw swallowed her mouthful. "We do, but not all of us want to join the army. Some of us want to become something else."

"Like what?", inquires Blossomfall.

"Great StarClan, there are too many to count. Well, there are many categories, like the arts, sports, politics, scientific jobs..." She trailed off, once again saying words cats don't know.

Blossomfall made her confused face, and Whitepaw explained. After she did, Millie walked up to them. She looked over to Whitepaw and said, "Well, I see that you've met my daughter, but you two are going to have to end your little chat. Whitepaw has some hunting practice to do."

Whitepaw looked up and saw the sun at the position of sunhigh. _It's that time already? _She had been talking to Blossomfall for so long she lost track of time. Thank StarClan she was in camp at the time instead of a random place in the forest. That would have been bad.

"Oh, okay." She go up and looked to Blossomfall. "So...see you later?" Blossomfall nodded. Whitepaw smiled and went into the forest with her mentor.

While Millie was leading the way, the mentor asked, "Are you getting the hang of being a clan cat yet?"

Whitepaw thought for a moment. "Sort of. Living here is way different from my life since I was always inside a temperature controlled den, had a cushiony nest, and had pets."

"Pets? You mean a kittypet was living with you?"

"No, I had a dog."

Millie looked to be disgusted. "Dogs! Why do Twolegs let those flea infested beasts run all over their territory?" she hissed.

Whitepaw explained. "Well, I find dogs more playful and sweet than cats. Don't get me wrong, I like living with you guys. But I would rather have a dog as a pet; cats scratch more often and they seem more aggressive." Millie looked at her with wide eyes. Whitepaw said, "I'm saying this from a Twoleg perspective."

Millie faced forward again and calmly said, "Well, it is your preference. As you know, cats and dogs don't mix very well. They took many lives away."

The apprentice then said, "Then good thing my dog doesn't attack cats. She only barks at them."

"Good. Then we have one less dog to worry about." Millie stopped in a small clearing and circled around to face Whitepaw.

"First, let's go over the hunting crouch. And remember: keep your tail up and put most of your weight in your hind legs." Millie demonstrated the crouch. "This way, you'll be ready to pounce when your close enough to your prey."

Whitepaw copied the gray she-cat. She made sure she did what she had been instructed before Millie continued. "Next, make sure you check your surroundings when ever you have prey in sight. Always check the wind first." Whitepaw nodded. Millie went on. "Now, you may look around for any scent trails. Don't go too far."

"Okay." Whitepaw left the area and sniffed around. She did find something, but it didn't smell like prey. She didn't know what it smelled like. Maybe a new scent she hadn't learned yet? She still had some to memorize but the scent seemed odd.

After a few minutes, someone said, "Did you find a scent trail?" Millie had come into the area, probably to check on Whitepaw. The mentor came over when she didn't receive an answer.

Millie checked the scent, being angry after. "ShadowClan, no doubt. Someone must have come across the border." She turned to Whitepaw. "Good thing you found it." The apprentice smiled with pride.

Whitepaw was being led to the border with a thought on her mind. _There are way too many cats to guess.__ If only I was reading these events in a book the answer would come faster!_

The two cats came into the clearing, and then split up and began to search the area. Whitepaw went along the border so she could see where it had been crossed. She found the same scent, but this time the scent is stronger. Whitepaw worked her tail until she did the right act with it to tell Millie to go over to her. Millie inspected the scent, and nodded in approval.

"Well done, Whitepaw. Let's go report this to Bramblestar, then continue your training." Millie took the lead again and the two went back to camp.

III

While Millie was reporting to Bramblestar, Blossomfall came up to Whitepaw, who was near the Highledge. "What's this about?"

"Oh, we found ShadowClan scent many fox-lengths from the border. Sounds worse than ever if you ask me." Whitepaw was baffled as of why a ShadowClan cat would go so far in another clan's territory. It could be serious.

Blossomfall had the same reaction. "Really? I thought the clans would be quiet for a few moons before pulling something off like this. I would have thought that the other clans would think the Great Battle would be trouble enough. I guess I thought wrong!" She then left. Whitepaw waited for Millie to come out.

When the she-cat did, she came down the rock pile and told Whitepaw Bramblestar's orders. "Bramblestar said he would ask Squirrelflight to arrange more patrols to go around the ShadowClan border. Let's just hope ShadowClan knows what their doing." Millie changed the subject. "We can continue your training now. Let's get back into the forest."

III

Whitepaw had an unlucky day. She did everything correctly, but when it came to actually catching prey it didn't go well. There was barely any rodents out and when she found one they ran the last second. She came back to the clan empty pawed.

Millie didn't blame her, and that Whitepaw could try again tomorrow. The apprentice hoped she would feed the clan a bit more since she pretty much felt like she was just being there for the sake of being there.

It was now an hour until dawn, and plenty of time to still do something. She decided to go see the kits and play with them for a bit. She then remembered Daisy was in there, the former kittypet who takes care of the kits. She tried to remember the other cats in there, since the kits still need their mothers.

She entered the nursery to see Brightheart and Daisy with Seedkit, Lilykit, Snowkit, Amberkit, and Dewkit. Daisy was the first one to notice her enter, and greeted her kindly with her soft voice. "Oh, hello. Whitepaw, is it?" Whitepaw nodded. "Well, welcome to the nursery."

Brightheart then turned to her. Brightheart asked, "What are you doing here?"

Whitepaw simply said, "I just wanted to see the kits."

Brightheart gave her a surprised look. Brightheart then spoke quietly to a dark, tabby kit with white patches. Whitepaw couldn't hear them exactly but it sounded like she was telling the kit to be careful._ I figured. It would take an extra long time to trust a Twoleg with a kit._

The queen nudged the kit to Whitepaw, saying, "This is Lilykit."

Lilykit nervously stumbled to Whitepaw and met her without looking up. The kit said, "H-hello."

_Why oh why must the bad Twolegs be presented to these cats?_ Whitepaw, with a smile, said, "Hi, I'm Whitepaw, the new cat." The kit still looked scared. Whitepaw calmly said, "It's okay, I won't hurt you."

"How do I know you won't? I heard Bramblestar say you know everything. So that means you know how to get rid of us." Lilykit looked up to her, and Whitepaw saw the kit's scared eyes.

Whitepaw felt bad, and replied, "I might be a bit clever, but I don't know how to get rid of ThunderClan. You and your littermates and denmates would probably defeat me if I tried!" Lilykit giggled.

Lilykit smiled. "Yeah, you wouldn't stand a chance against me!" The kit then pounced on Whitepaw. Whitepaw fell dramatically and said, "Oh no! You got me!" The tabby kit laughed, and then the other four kits started to playfully attack the apprentice.

Brightheart and Daisy watched them, with both surprised and amused faces. Whitepaw and the kits played until the sun was just about to touch the edge of the world, making it sunset.

The white she-cat left, saying good bye, and began to head to the apprentice den when something bumped into her flank. She said, "Watch where your going!"

She turned to see it was Jayfeather. Again. "Oh, sorry, again."

Jayfeather looked up. "Whitepaw? Okay, how are we always bumping into each other?"

_Let's blame fate, shall we? _Whitepaw just replied with, "I have no idea."

Jayfeather then walked away. Whitepaw kept walking, praying to StarClan that no one else would bother her so she could just go to sleep. Unfortunately, something pulled lightly on her tail. She turned around and saw no one.

_StarClan, just let me rest! _She was about to turn around when she saw two pairs of gleaming eyes right outside the camp walls. _What in the name of StarClan? _She stared at it for a few seconds, before the eyes quickly turned around and dashed into the forest. Suspicous, she decided to investigate.

Whitepaw walked through the clearing and out of camp. She went to the exact spot the thing was at and looked around. She soon found a scent trail leading in the direction of ShadowClan territory, but it was the same scent as earlier today. Shocked, she quickly padded along the scent trail.

At first she wasn't sure if it was a ShadowClan cat. There was only one animal to follow, so there was no invasion. But it since it was the same ShadowClan scent, she wasn't sure what it was. No cat would go this far into someone else's territory.

The scent got stronger and stronger to where she was able to hear paw steps ahead...and heavy breathing. She went forward a bit, but the thing ran off, by the sound of it. Whitepaw followed. Eventually a chase formed and she focused as much as she could so she wouldn't lose it. They both were headed for ShadowClan territory, making it clear that it was a ShadowClan cat.

She went as fast as she could, and ended up seeing the cat in a clear view. In the sun's last rays of the day, the cat was dark brown with black stripes. Whitepaw's eyes widened in realization.

The apprentice blurted out the first cat that came to her mind. "Tigerheart?"

Tigerheart turned his head around and looked shock. His shock didn't last long; since he didn't know where he was going, he ran right into a tree. He fell to his side and quietly whimpered in pain. Whitepaw stood over him, angry.

"What the heck were you doing this far into ThunderClan territory?" Whitepaw hissed. Tigerheart tried to escape, but Whitepaw him down with her front paws, and stood on him. "Tell me! Then, I can report you to Bramblestar!"

"I have a good reason!" Tigerheart pleaded. He stayed in his limp position and didn't struggle much.

Whitepaw was confused, but listened anyway. _This better be good! _"Fine, but if it's not good enough, I'm reporting you!"

The intruder was quiet for a moment. He sighed deeply, and said, "I came here to see Dovewing."

Whitepaw was shocked, and got off of him to let him get up. She couldn't believe it. She yelled, "So you went all the way from your clan, technically breaking two rules, to see Dovewing again? I thought she ended this!"

"Shh! Don't let anyone hear!" said Tigerheart, quietly. "She did, but I was going to ask her for a second chance. That maybe we could be still be friends."

"And you couldn't have waited until the next gathering?" Whitepaw realized her last sentence. "Let me rephrase that: Couldn't you have just forgotten the idea?"

"No. And I wouldn't be able to the gathering. I've been banned from going to it so I couldn't see her. Blackstar said I would be able to go to it in three moons. He was guessing Dovewing would move on by then."

Whitepaw cut in. "Then Blackstar knows what he's doing."

Tigerheart hissed, "Let me finish! I waited by the border for half a moon but she hasn't come. I wanted to see her so badly so I couldn't help but go across the border." Acting as if Whitepaw was a guide, he asked, "Now, where is she?" His amber eyes showed his desperation.

Whitepaw stared at him as if he had two heads. "Are you joking? Do you really expect me to show you where Dovewing is?" She unsheathed her claws went closer to Tigerheart, who was backing away. "Get back to your clan. Now."

"No! I haven't come here for nothing!" He unsheathed his claws as well and tried to paw swipe Whitepaw's ear. "Now let me pass!"

Whitepaw pounced on him. Tigerheart was slammed against the tree, and the two started a fight. Tigerheart pushed Whitepaw away and tried to jump onto her. Whitepaw crouched down and dodged him, then got back up and turned around to face him. By the time she did, Tigerheart had already turned around. The ShadowClan cat tried to claw Whitepaw's nose but she pulled away just in time.

Whitepaw then pounced onto him again and knocked him to the ground. She forcefully slammed her paws down onto his side and scrapped them across his flank. Small droplets of blood showed on the dark pelt.

Tigerheart quickly got up and whipped around with his paw swiping across Whitepaw's cheek. She yowled in pain, but was mostly shocked from how much it actually hurts. She couldn't react quick enough and Tigerheart pushed her down and tried to scratch her belly. Angry, Whitepaw rolled in the direction of Tigerheart and tripped him.

The tabby cat fell, and Whitepaw got up and bit into his shoulder and hard as she could. Tigerheart yowled. Whitepaw then stood over him and held him down. Tigerheart struggled to get out of the she-cat's grasped but it didn't work.

Whitepaw looked at him in the eye, and said, "You are very lucky no one else found you. Now get back to your clan before I consider to blind you the next time I see you." Tigerheart didn't say anything back.

She let the ShadowClan cat go, and he quickly limped away from the apprentice into the forest. Whitepaw sighed heavily. She couldn't believe what she had just heard and witnessed. Tigerheart would have never gone this far.

Other than that, she was shocked about how much of a fight he put up. She had never experienced anything like it in her life. She had to report this to Bramblestar immediately. Not to waste any more time, she began to run back to camp.

**Tigerheart...GET OVER IT! Man, so much stuff happened. Whitepaw had her first fight, she got a new friend, she remembered her crush for Jayfeather...**

**Well, this is it for now. I'll be back! Bye.**


	4. Chapter 4

Whitepaw tried to find the way back to camp. It was now night so it was harder to see, but she pushed on and tried to recognize the way back. Here first thought was that she didn't want to get seen by a fox or badger, but then a different subject came to mind. She thought about how the others reacted to her.

Determination flowed through her, most of it being to prove her trust. Over the past week, no one showed their faces happily to her or wanted to meet her; actually, the fact that she didn't have many friends there was pretty much her own fault, being shy and all.

But her current goal was to be accepted. She wanted the feeling of knowing that everyone doesn't dislike her for being a Twoleg once. She couldn't blame them, some Twolegs did take the cats' first home away, and killed a few cats in the process. If only they knew that all Twolegs weren't that bad. But that would never happen, since they could never understand them emotionally or physically.

She finally found the large stone gorge ahead. She ran to it and burst through the entrance, and then found herself being stared at by others. Bramblestar was on the Highledge staring at her too, and his eyes widened. Her clanmates began to whisper, and Bramblestar stood up and asked, "Whitepaw, where were you? And what happened to you?"

Whitepaw panted from running so far, but answered the question. "A ShadowClan cat went across the border and was at the entrance of the camp. I saw him and chased after him. He stopped, saying he needed to do something that involved breaking the warrior code. I didn't let him and tried to chase him back to the border." She paused and panted. "We started a fight, but I won and he ran back to his clan. At least, I hope he did."

Yowls of rage filled the stone hollow, asking to attack and invade ShadowClan. Bramblestar didn't protest, looking furious. Whitepaw panicked and thought, _I haven't told the whole story yet!_ She yowled to silence the cats, but they didn't listen. Bramblestar leaped off the Highledge and padded toward Whitepaw.

He went up to the apprentice and asked, yelling over the other cats, "Whitepaw, tell me this is a mistake. No cat would would cross another clan's border for the sake of it. Are there any other details?"

"I was going to say that it didn't have to do with ShadowClan! It only had to do with that particular ShadowClan cat and a clanmate here. He told me why and it doesn't have to do with invasion." She hoped Bramblestar was convinced. She didn't want the clan to have to speak with another leader about something that would get both ShadowClan and ThunderClan into trouble.

Bramblestar was utterly confused. Before he went on, he shouted, "Silence" to his clan. Every cat was quiet, but then watched the leader. Bramblestar asked Whitepaw, "Why did the cat cross?"

Whitepaw stood quietly for a long while, not knowing what to say. If ThunderClan knew about Tigerheart and Dovewing, Dovewing would be punished no doubt. Whitepaw couldn't do that to her, not in this situation.

"I cannot tell you. But I can say that the ShadowClan cat was Tigerheart. He came here to break two codes, one of those codes involving another cat here. I don't want to hurt that cat, so I can't. I'm sorry." Everything was so quiet that you could here the wind whistling through the trees.

Squirrelflight walked up next to Bramblestar, and the two exchanged looks. Finally, the clan leader said, "Very well. But extra ShadowClan patrols will be sent out daily. We can't have anything more like this even if it has nothing to do with invasion." The two cats began to walk into the crowd.

Before they did, Bramblestar looked back and said,By the way, well done. You have proven yourself part way." He then vanished into the group of cats. Almost instantly, a tabby, light brown she-cat came forward and walked towards Whitepaw. The apprentice noticed the cat to be Leafpool.

The medicine cat said, "Come with me." Whitepaw was led to the medicine cat den.

It was as Whitepaw imagined the den. A small stone cave with an arch doorway that leads to the supplies. Whitepaw was seated in a nest, followed by her claw scratch wound on her right cheek being dealt with. Leafpool noted it was dripping blood, and then used some cobwebs to stop the flow. She then later came back with a ball of moss.

"The cuts aren't too deep, so they should just heal." The she-cat said, after washing the cuts with the ball of moss. Whitepaw was relieved it was nothing serious, since she was so new with these types of injuries. Leafpool then went away to the medicine supplies.

Whitepaw then noticed Briarlight in the den, lying in her nest as usual. She wasn't doing anything, just observing Whitepaw. The dark brown she-cat looked away when the apprentice looked over to her, looking either uncomfortable or embarrassed; Whitepaw couldn't tell.

Leafpool then came back with an herb. It was a tall stem with many yellow ends sticking out of it. Leafpool then chewed a small stalk of it and started licking the wound. Whitepaw knew it was perfectly normal, but felt a bit awkward sitting their like that during the process.

Leafpool stopped. "There. I put goldenrod on your wound to heal it. There shouldn't be an infection, so you'll be fine." She turned around and began to put back the goldenrod. "I have to say, I would have never expected a Twoleg to have done what you did. Maybe StarClan had a point in bringing you here, but I'm still not sure it was their best idea."

Whitepaw decided to take that as a compliment. "Er...thanks?"

"You're welcome." she replied. Just then, Jayfeather came in carrying a puffy herb in his jaws. He went through the den and placed the herb in an empty spot in the storage. He stopped when he was halfway out of the storage doorway.

"Leafpool, what happened when I was gone? I keep hearing everyone mention Whitepaw and a ShadowClan cat." He then turned in the direction of the white apprentice. "Whitepaw, what are you in here for?"

Whitepaw answered both questions by summarizing the scene. "A ShadowClan cat came across the border and I tried to get him to turn around and go back. He refused and we started a fight. I got slightly wounded, but he ran off in the end."

Jayfeather responded, "How far from the border, and did he have a purpose?"

"He was right outside the camp, and he wanted to see someone here."

Jayfeather seemed to be thinking, but then asked, "Was the ShadowClan cat anyone in particular?"

"He was Tigerheart."

"Who was he looking for?"

"As I said to Bramblestar, I can't say." Whitepaw hoped Jayfeather wouldn't go into her mind and try to find the answer.

Jayfeather looked suspicious, but was content with the answer. "Alright. Let's all hope StarClan won't let him run past the border again." He padded out of the den.

Leafpool spoke to Whitepaw. "You may go. Make sure nothing rubs against that scratch during the night."

"Okay." She got up and walked out of the den. It was now twilight and the gorge's shadows covered the clearing making it twice as hard to see. The sky was dark and StarClan cats specked the sky. The moon looked almost full, hinting that a gathering may come soon.

She tried to pinpoint the apprentice den when Blossomfall came up next to her. "Though that ShadowClan cat had an odd reason, you did what any other cat would do. And you said you weren't ready to go on a dusk patrol." she teased.

"That's a bit different. This was more like...being more on my own and the problem was a bit personal for the intruder. Plus I..." She stopped talking before she would accidentally reveal Tigerheart's secret.

Blossomfall looked suspicious. "'You' what? And what do you mean when you said the motivation of the cat was personal?"

Whitepaw couldn't just tell it to her even if Blossomfall was one of the few cats kind enough to talk to her. It wasn't the whole Dark Forest thing that bugged her, it was that she didn't know this cat very well.

"No. I can't tell you. It wouldn't be fair to the ShadowClan cat if I told his secret." Along with the stranger thing, even if it was the enemy, she respects all secrets.

"Why not? It can't be that bad. And it's just a ShadowClan cat, it is not like it will matter to ThunderClan."

Whitepaw widened her eyes in shock. "It does matter to ThunderClan! If only you wouldn't freak out over it I wouldn't have to be hiding it!"

"I won't freak out, I promise. Why would ShadowClan have anything to do with ThunderClan? That definitely doesn't sound right." Blossomfall looked at her with a hopeful expression.

"I'm sorry. I must respect their secret." She unexpectedly yawned, then remembered what she wanted to do before the fight. "Now, it's late, for me. I should be in bed. See you later." She walked away without another word.

She padded into the apprentice den, seeing the two other apprentices fast asleep, and got settled in her nest. It didn't take long to fall into a deep sleep, followed by a dream.

She opened her eyes and found herself staring at a dark, gloomy forest; she was standing right outside it. Behind her was a well grown forest with cats in the distance under a clear, starry sky. She then realized she was in StarClan again, but was instead brought to the Dark Forest border.

_Why would I be..._, she trailed off her thought as something ahead was visible in the murky woods. It was obviously a cat, but something about it was familiar. He or she had black and orange patches over their white fur. _Black and orange...no. It can't be._

When that name hit her mind she unsheathed her claws and showed her teeth. The splotched cat came out of the woods and stood at the edge of the border, having a malicious smile on her face.

"Hello, Whitepaw. I am Mapleshade." Whitepaw growled. Mapleshade replied with a teasing tone. "That's not how you treat a StarClan cat, is it?"

"I'm not stupid. I know who you are and what you've done." Whitepaw hissed.

Mapleshade changed her expression to a serious one. "Fine, be like that. I just came here to tell you why I summoned you to me. I have a deal for you."

Whitepaw rolled her eyes. "When I said I knew everything, I wasn't joking. I know what you did the last time you made a deal: you killed an entire cat's family. If you don't have anything interesting to ask or say, I'm leaving."

The Dark Forest cat looked at her, looking slightly frustrated. "There is only one last thing I ask of you, unless you don't want it."

"Bye." Whitepaw said, cruelly. Without another word, she left, leaving Mapleshade standing there.

"If that's how you're going play, so be it!" Mapleshade yelled. After that, the dream ended all of a sudden.

Whitepaw was then lying in her nest again. She opened her eyes to darkness, and then tried to locate the cave entrance to see the time of day. She couldn't see it anywhere. _I must have woken up at midnight_, she thought. She tried to go back to sleep, but couldn't. She couldn't just take a walk, she wouldn't be able to see anything. She knew cats were able to see at night, but couldn't understand why she didn't have the same vision.

_I guess my Twoleg eyes came with me._ She tried to sleep again, feeling like it was eternity before she finally fell asleep.

III

Dawn approuched the day and took over the night sky. Whitepaw, though not having much sleep that night, still woke up at that time. She yawned and got up. She walked out of the den into a dark sky-covered clearing. It was raining softly against the rocky ground with wind blowing outside of the gorge.

No cats were out, so she went through the quiet area and out into the forest, not minding the rain. While walking to the Sky Oak, she recalled the dream she had last night. She was shocked to see that Mapleshade was the one that brought her there. Of all cats it had to be that murdering devil.

To start, she first found out Mapleshade when she was preparing for the battle between the living and dead cats. Whitepaw had thought of her as nothing unusual, just another random Dark Forest cat. Once she read that she had killed Spottedleaf, she thought of her as bad as Brokenstar.

What really got the apprentice was when when she read Crookedstar's Promise. She had no idea that Mapleshade was the one that killed all of Crookedstar's family; including Silverstream.

Whitepaw had no one to blame when Silverstream died. She had to keep mind that it was just a very heartbreaking mishap. She never liked seeing the cats in the books lose a mate or any family. She would feel a part of their grief along with the fictional cats. She was then angry when she discovered Mapleshade was to blame, and had always hoped the Dark Forest cat would get what she deserved.

Yet it never happened. She's still in her gloomy forest, and still has the opportunity to kill. Eventually, either a clan cat would have to deal with her, or herself. Either way Mapleshade had to be dealt with to never hurt a soul again.

She reached the tree but paused when she was on the right side of it. She looked to her left and saw the record branch. She went over to it and pulled it out of its place. She carried it over to her sitting spot and placed it a tail-length from the water's edge.

She just examined it to see if there's anything else strange about it. But after about a minute all she could say about it was that it was the same: a stick with claw marks.

Whitepaw looked across the lake to see WindClan territory. Nothing was going to there, just the wide field being softly poured on by rain. It was the only other territory she could see since RiverClan territory is too far and ShadowClan is covered with pine trees.

Another thought came to mind: what would it be like at the gathering? She knew none of the cats would recognize her and that no one would wonder about her actual identity; she just was asking a general question. Knowing there could be arguments but she questioned if Bramblestar is going to mention her.

A shuffle in the bushes distracted her from her thoughts. After a few seconds, the being came out and it seemed to just be a regular mouse. Seeing that gave her a rather odd idea. _You know, what would it be like to fish as a cat?_ She looked over the edge of the water to spot a fish. When she saw a small flicker of movement, she thought, _I really hope no one sees this._

She unsheathed her right paw and raised it. She remembered some of the rules, like not having your shadow on the water, and did as said. She was about to charge her paw into the water when she heard another rustle in the bushes near the forest. _It's probably just another rodent._

Instead of silence afterwards, Whitepaw heard, "Um, Whitepaw? What are you doing?"

Whitepaw sheathed her claws, put her paw down, and looked over to see Blossomfall standing right outside the forest. "Oh, I was just seeing what it's like to catch a fish as a cat." she confessed.

Blossomfall just stood there. "Only RiverClan fish. And I don't think you should hunt their prey anyway."

"This was only a one time thing. And I was going to put the fish back in the water if it was still alive."

"Why would you do that?"

"Why kill it if I wasn't going to eat it? It's called catch and release for Twolegs."

"You and your Twoleg life. Is there no limit to the things they do?" The warrior began walking to Whitepaw.

The apprentice then remembered the stick she brought over there. She grabbed it with her mouth and moved it the the right of her. Blossomfall laid down on the left side of Whitepaw and didn't question about the branch.

Blossomfall began talking again. "I know I shouldn't ask this to a Twoleg, but do you want to be my friend? And I also know we only talked for the first time yesterday, but you're different. I would have expected a Twoleg to be more...nervous or harsh around us." Whitepaw was surprised to hear this.

The warrior continued. "You were brave enough to come up to one of the clans. I doubt a Twoleg would have done that, especially when you explained that they were like pretty much exactly like kittypets. And you weren't harsh to any one of us when you got here. I think StarClan knew what they were doing."

"Thank you. And I will be your friend." Whitepaw was hesitant about here decision, but knew it would be good to have a few friends here. Even though she liked to be alone, it is nice to have someone to talk to now and then.

Dawn was approaching, and the two she-cats were just sitting next to the lake relaxing and asking a question from time to time. One question surprised Whitepaw, but in an odd way.

Blossomfall tapped the surface of the water with her paw. "Did you ever like someone when you were a Twoleg? Did you have a mate?"

Whitepaw was a bit surprised from the question, but the she-cat just simply answered, "Nope."

Blossomfall questioned further. "Do you, or did you, like someone in ThunderClan?"

The apprentice stiffened. She hesitated how much to tell before responding. "Oh, well, uh...no."

Blossomfall looked at her suspiciously. "You didn't seem so sure. I won't tell anyone, I promise."

Whitepaw explained, but left out who it was. "It's not that. Well, when you're a Twoleg and you're able to fall slightly in love with someone, it could be anyone. And so if it were a cat from the books a Twoleg were to like, it could be any type of cat here. An ancestor, a kittypet, someone who already has a mate, or even a medicine cat."

"And what you're saying is?"

Whitepaw nervously said, "I'm saying that I like one of those types of cats."

The warrior's eyes widened. "Wait, what? You mean you like one of those cats, someone your are not supposed to fall in love with?"

"I didn't want to lie, so I just told you the type of cat he was. If anyone knew who he was I would be in huge trouble. Even though I didn't tell you the name, could you please not tell anyone?"

Blossomfall looked hesitant. After a while, she replied, "Yes. Yes, I will keep it a secret. If you can keep everyone's secret, then I should be expected to keep yours. No one will know." Whitepaw smiled, relieved. She was grateful someone was able to understand.

The sun was now up and the camp would probably be busy with cats by then. Blossomfall and Whitepaw decided to walk back to the gorge, along with a bit more questions.

"How many moons old are you? I'm just curious." asked Blossomfall.

Whitepaw thought for a moment. "I don't really know. I was 15 years old when I was a Twoleg. So in cat years, that would be...about eight moons old. I guess that sounds right."

"Cat years?"

"Oh, yeah. Since Twolegs live longer than most animals, they thought of a way to calculate how old a cat, for example, is by cat years. Cat years is sort of like aging one year in one moon. If a cat was one year old in reality, then they would be eighteen years old. It's more understandable if you saw a chart." Blossomfall nodded in agreement.

Both she-cats were at the entrance of the camp when it was about an hour past dawn. They entered and departed to go along with they're duties.

Whitepaw had so far enjoyed life as a warrior. She was in a magical world, no school, no parents to tell her what to do, no kids from school, and StarClan. It was a life she was going to enjoy.

III

After her chat with Blossomfall, Whitepaw had taken a short nap in the apprentice den before waking up. She went out and tried to find her mentor when she spotted Jayfeather near the medicine cat den.

She didn't want to encourage herself to fall even more in love with him, but a crush can never be stopped. So right then, she couldn't help but pad over to him. She waited behind him to notice her, but then remembering that he was blind.

Nervously, she asked, "Er...Jayfeather?"

The medicine cat pricked his ears up and turned his head to face her. "Oh, it's you. What is it?"

_How the heck do I say this_? She forced herself to ask, "By any chance...do you want or need any help with gathering herbs?" _That sounds like the most stupidest line ever._

Jayfeather looked at her uninterestedly. "No, I'm fine." He turned around and walked into the den.

_It was worth a shot._ She went on the finding Millie, who was near the fresh-kill pile. The exited camp and headed for the mossy clearing to practice battle moves. Whitepaw was learning a new one called the claw roll. Millie promised to teach it the next time they trained.

They met in the center of the clearing, facing each other. Millie started the lesson. "To do this, you need to focus on aim. I will demonstrate the claw roll. Look closely."

The silver cat rolled over to one side, stretching her left unsheathed paw out when she turned over to scratch an imaginary enemy. She landed by crouching down on all four paws and stood up.

"It's not too difficult. You just have to be quick, while knowing where your enemy has moved to." Millie moved back a few paw-steps. "You may now try it."

Whitepaw stood for a few seconds before copying the move. She rolled over and stretched her paw as far out as possible when she was turned over, and then crouched on her paws to land. She stood up and Millie nodded in approval.

"Good job. Now, let us keep going."

**I was off by two moons. TWO MOONS! I'm just going to pretend that the Great Battle was in June and not August. So, I'm back in school, aka FrustrationLand instead. I GOT HOMEWORK ON THE FIRST DAY. I'm in 8th grade, but what the heck!? I feel like I barely have any time now. **

**On a side note, I may go back in chapters and change a couple things since I'm making this story as accurate as possible. And I was partially putting most of my rage about Mapleshade in here. I can honestly say she is more evil than Tigerstar.**

** Well, That's pretty much it for now. Bye!**


	5. Chapter 5

A few days past, with the new tension still going around, and cats began to meow about the upcoming gathering that night. Whitepaw wouldn't have minded if she couldn't go; she would have a bit of peace and quiet in the apprentices den if Molepaw and Cherrypaw went.

Not only the gathering was on the Twoleg's mind, but the thought of Jayfeather hadn't left her. She of course knew she could never be with him, but she couldn't help with glancing at him now and then. She didn't even know why she liked him, some of the cats think he's a bit rude and pushy.

It was nearly dawn and Whitepaw is lying in her usual spot near the lake. Everything was normal, but rain had started to come during the night. No other cats had come across the border, nor have patrols come by anything suspicious. It was a bit peaceful, though training had been tougher as she went. But, it beats having to study for a test or do seven homework assignments.

She became bored and stood up. She padded away from the lake and past the Sky Oak to the forest. It was dawn and rays of orange and blue stretched across the sky. Raindrops fell from the branches in the trees and either fell on the moist ground or into Whitepaw's pelt. Each paw step was soft, along with every breathe being a slight chill with Greenleaf warmth.

Whitepaw began to go through her memory to find songs she would like to listen to. She eventually found one and started to hum the song, "Once Upon a Dream", the one sung by Emily Osment. It used to get stuck in her head when she saw those Disney commercials.

She wandered a bit more and found herself back at camp where some cats were padding the area. Whitepaw entered to try to find Blossomfall to chat, still humming the song. The dappled she-cat had just walked out of the warriors den, looking happy and energized.

Whitepaw went towards her, stopping her humming to greet her. "Hi Blossomfall."

The warrior returned the greeting. "Hello." They both padded to a spot in the hollow and sat down. They started to chat about the oncoming gathering. "Do you think Bramblestar will let me go to the gathering?" asked Whitepaw.

Blossomfall thought for a moment before answering. "I don't know. You've only been here for a quarter moon, and StarClan knows what the cats will think of you. I wouldn't get your hopes up."

Whitepaw agreed. "You're right. But it would be exciting to see the other clans and hear what they have to say other than imagining it."

Blossomfall nodded. Right after, Graystripe came over to the two friends. He meowed to his daughter, "Morning, Blossomfall." He looked over to Whitepaw, then back to Blossomfall. "I see that you've made a new friend. That's very kind of you." He then padded to the fresh-kill pile.

Seeing Graystripe reminded Whitepaw of Briarlight. She asked Blossomfall, "Out of curiosity, is Briarlight doing well? With her hind legs and all..."

"Yes, she is fine. Jayfeather made her excercises a bit tougher, but she handles them quite alright." Blossomfall stood on all fours. "I'm going to join the dawn patrol. Do you want to come with me, or are you still thinking on it?"

The apprentice was hesitant, but thought why not. "Sure, I'll come." She then followed the warrior to a group of three cats. They were Berrynose, Toadstep, and Ivypool.

Blossomfall padded to them, announcing, "Whitepaw will join the patrol. I'll be showing her what to do."

The three cats looked skeptical. Berrynose said, "What makes you think we agree? She's not going on a dawn patrol."

While Ivypool was hesitating, Toadstep glared at Berrynose. The black and white cat stepped in to say, "What he meant to say is that maybe she should have a bit more practice before going on a patrol. She's only been here for a quarter moon."

When Blossomfall looked to be either agreeing or arguing with them, Ivypool commented, "We should give her a chance. She has to go on a patrol sometime, and it's not that difficult to attend one."

Berrynose argued, "But she's a..." A look from Toadstep quieted him down. Berrynose flicked his tail in annoyance.

Toadstep gave in. "Alright. Let's see if she can kepe up." They all began to walk out into the forest towards the direction of the WindClan border. No one spoke during the walk.

After a while, Ivypool neared to Whitepaw and whispered, "Your welcome."

Whitepaw whispered back, "You know you didn't have to do that."

The warrior let out a sigh. "I know. But I think everyone deserves a chance. But keep in mind that I won't be doing it again." She said no more and moved away from the Twoleg.

Whitepaw wondered why she would say that, until she realized it had to do with Ivypool being a part of the dark forest. The she-cat must have felt the need to defend the new warrior since it partially had to do with loyalty and trust; two things Ivypool might have had trouble after all.

They reached the WindClan border, splitting up among the stretch of grass. Whitepaw looked closer, noticing small blood stains and clumps of grass ripped out in random places. She thought, _Oh duh, the battle. I've must have been so distracted and overwhelmed the last time I was here, that I didn't notice. _

Toadstep gave directions. "Whitepaw and Berrynose, you two scent the area. Blossomfall, Ivypool, and I will place scent markers." Each cat carried out their orders.

Whitepaw padded to a clumps of plants and sniffed around. Nothing was strange, only a mouse or small animal had been there. She turned around and was nose to nose with Berrynose. She backed away, apologized, and tried to go around him when the cream colored cat stopped her with his tail.

"What are you doing?" Whitepaw inquired. Berrynose sent a suspicious glare at the white apprentice.

The warrior flicked his tail. "You shouldn't be here, and you know that. You think you can just walk in and become an apprentice. I don't even have the slightest clue why Bramblestar chose to let you stay. What a load of mousedung!" he sneered.

Whitepaw sighed in annoyance with a slight of realization. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. You're either scared that a Twoleg with all knowledge came in the clan, or you're angry you have to live with a Twoleg and you're uncomfortable with me for some odd reason." If there's one thing she's good at, it's being able to be logical in situations like this.

Berrynose narrowed his eyes, having surprise and annoyance in them. "Don't be so clever, Twoleg. I'll be watching you." He left and went to the other side of the area.

Whitepaw didn't bother to dwell on the thought, and kept looking. She kept on going until Toadstep had called to everyone to head back. She followed the rest back to camp.

On the way Blossomfall came over to the apprentice. "This wasn't that bad, was it? I still don't understand why you're so afraid to be on a border patrol."

Whitepaw did her best to explain why. "I certainly don't want to lead one, but I know I don't have to. And the other thing, well, uh..." She trailed off, reluctant to say her last reason.

"What? Why can't you explain it? Is it because you don't want to run into another clan?"

"Not at all. It's, well. This is so embarrassing to say but..." She quickly said, "I don't exactly feel comfortable marking the border." Her fur heated with embarrassment from just saying it. She was extremely happy these cats wouldn't understand how it's weird for Twolegs.

Blossomfall looked surprised. "That's all? Why was it so hard for you to say that?"

"For Twolegs, it's different and that's all I'm saying. That's pretty much why I wouldn't want to go on border patrols much." She added, "And no, it's not because I don't know how to."

"It's alright. But if the border patrol leader asks you to do it, you should do it."

"Yeah, probably." Whitepaw let out a sigh. She was glad she explained it to someone than to just keep quiet. It had been weird enough to use the dirtplace; she practically had to persuade herself to just deal with it. Now, if only she could just go on as little border patrols as possible. But she knew that would only happen in her mind.

The five cats arrived back at camp and scattered among the area. Whitepaw headed to the apprentice den to rest. She entered, expected to see the two younger cats, but no one was there. The she-cat crept into her nest and laid down, curling her tail over her nose. She closed her eyes and fell asleep.

It wasn't long until she woke again. Something felt like it was climbing her fur. Drowsy, she opened her eyes slightly and looked behind her. It was gone. Once she turned her head back around, a yowl escaped her mouth. Right in front of her was a large, brown-haired tarantula.

She ran to corner and stayed there, watching and hoping the spider wouldn't go in her direction. Dovewing and Rosepetal came in and looked over to Whitepaw.

Dovewing asked, "What happened? You scared the whole clan!"

_I can't believe I forgot spiders were here! If only I wasn't afraid of them._ Whitepaw answered, "Sp-sp-spid-der."

Dovewing scanned the area and found the spider near Whitepaw's nest. It was in the exact same spot it was before Whitepaw freaked out. Dovewing sighed. "You yowled just because you got spooked by a bug?"

Whitepaw nodded. Rosepetal commented, "If this was all, then why do you look as if a snake had came in and were about to bite you?"

"There's something called Arachnophobia, which is an extreme fear of spiders, and I have that."

Rosepetal and Dovewing exchanged looks. Dovewing said, "Would you feel better if I got rid of the spider?" Whitepaw nodded. The gray warrior took her paw and slashed the tarantula across its back, killing it. Dovewing carried it in her jaws and went away. Rosepetal came over to Whitepaw and put her tail on the apprentice's shoulder.

"I'll take you to Leafpool." The two she-cats got up and padded out of the den; Whitepaw kept glancing around, paranoid that spiders would pop out of somewhere.

They reached the medicine cat den and Whitepaw spotted Leafpool and Jayfeather inside. Leafpool saw Whitepaw and questioned her. "What happened?"

Rosepetal answered instead. "She saw a spider. She says she has this thing that makes her be afraid of spiders."

Jayfeather's ears pricked and he came over to them. "Did I hear that correctly? Did you just say that she yowled because of a spider?" He turned to Whitepaw. "You're joking, right?"

"Jayfeather, whether or not it was serious, she's still not okay. Do you mind getting her a few poppy seeds?" asked Leafpool. Jayfeather swished his tail and obeyed.

A few moments later, the blind cat came back with a lifted paw carrying poppy seeds. He stood next to Whitepaw and said, "Lick."

She licked the poppy seeds from his paw and swallowed them. Leafpool then asked, "Did you get bitten? How big was it?"

Whitepaw answered, "No, and it was the size of a newborn kit." She added, "And I think it was crawling on me at one point." She shivered at the thought.

The light brown cat checked Whitepaw's fur. She said, "Nothing unusual. You're fine, just rest."

Whitepaw left the den and padded across the clearing. Blossomfall suddenly came out of a crowd of cats and padded towards the apprentice. She asked, "What happened? Did you have a bad dream?"

"I saw a spider." Whitepaw realized how weird that sounded. Blossomfall looked unconvinced; Whitepaw explained. "I have a large fear of spiders, which is why a yowled."

"That was it?"

"Yep. Well, I'm going to go rest." Whitepaw padded away from Blossomfall to the apprentice den. This time she saw Molepaw and Cherrypaw in there poking around Whitepaw's nest.

Whitepaw asked, "What are you doing?"

Molepaw answered without looking up. "We heard you found a spider and are looking around your nest for any others."

_Thanks for saying that_, Whitepaw thought, disturbed. "Why would you be doing that?"

"We like to look around for them. They're kind of cool."

"Well, I was given poppy seeds, so I need to rest." She walked to her nest, the two apprentices going to their own.

The three settled in their nests, Whitepaw crept into hers while being nervous she might find another spider. When she was about to take another nap, she heard Cherrypaw's voice.

"Could you tell us a story?"

Whitepaw lifted her head to look at the apprentice. "Why now?"

Cherrypaw responded, "Well, I know its not night but I just want to know what kind of stories Twolegs made up."

Though she was supposed to rest, Whitepaw decided to tell one until she fell asleep. She tried to remember a story that would be both appropriate and understandable to say. She went through the Disney section in her mind, since some of those were her favorites. She remembered the story, or movie, 'Beauty and the Beast'. She figured it would be the easiest to explain.

"I've got one." Molepaw and Cherrypaw moved into nests closer to Whitepaw. The Twoleg apprentice began. "I'll put it in a way you'll understand." The two listening cats nodded understandingly. "Once there was a group in the mountain ruled by two leaders and their son. The son, his name not mentioned, was selfish. One day an old she-cat came and asked for shelter. In exchange for the shelter, she would grant him one rose."

"A rose? Why?" asked Cherrypaw.

"It was supposed to be a test to see if the prince was able to love." she continued. "But since he barely had any, he didn't let her stay. The next time she asked, he still said no. The old cat turned into a beautiful, and young silver she-cat. The cat tried to change her mind and to ask for her forgiveness. The cat said that if he was a monster on the inside, then he should be one on the outside. So, she turned him into a fox."

Molepaw listened in astonishment. "A fox? What happened?"

"The rest of the group changed too, like turning the other cats into prey. The fox was told by the sliver cat that if he wanted to turn back, he would have to learn to love. The curse would be permanent when the rose's petals fell off. After the she-cat left, the fox blocked all the exits of the area and hid in his den. He felt ashamed about his decision and himself ever since.

"After many years, a cream she-cat named Belle had run into the forbidden area looking for her father who was on a journey. She went inside the castle and followed the prey to where her father was being held captive by the fox. Belle said she would take her father's place and be the prisoner instead. After her father was taken away, she had realized that she was speaking to a fox.

"The fox had thought that she was the one to break the curse. So he gave her a den to sleep in and tried to get her to eat with him every night. After about a quarter moon of that, she tried to get to know the fox."

"Wait," said Molepaw, "Why would she want to get to know him? And doesn't she want to leave?"

"Well, in the normal version Belle couldn't defend herself against him, and if she's going to stay there she wanted to make the best of it. To continue, she tried to teach him to be cat-like again. After a moon, the fox and Belle started to have feelings for each other, but Belle didn't know if her feelings were true. One night, they had a romantic walk around the area. At midnight, the fox showed her a magic pool of water that let her see what ever she wants. She asked to see her father, and she saw him being thrown out of his group."

"Why?" asked Cherrypaw.

Whitepaw thought for a second, since she had to explain it without saying 'asylum'. "Well, he was begging the cats in the group to help get his daughter back, and none of them believed him and called him insane."

She continued. "Anyway," she yawned. The poppy seed must have been getting to her. "The fox did fall in love with Belle and let her go. Belle left to defend her father. When she got back to her group and tried to say that her father was telling the truth, a large, black cat named Gaston believed her, but wouldn't listen to her that the fox was kind. Gaston led the cats to the fox's land to kill the fox.

"After a short battle where the prey outsmart the cats, don't ask how, Gaston had wounded the fox, but was dangling from a ledge of that mountain. Gaston fell to his death and Belle came to the fox. The fox was about to die when Belle said, 'I love you'. It breaks the curse and the fox became a cat again."

She yawned again, and rested her head on the edge of the moss. Her eyes got heavier as she went on. "Belle and the cat became mates, and the rest of the prey that was there became cats again. And they lived happily...ever...after..." She trailed off, drifting into sleep.

III

Whitepaw woke up to an empty cave. Sound echoed in from the outside chatter. Not remembering the incident from before she fell asleep, the apprentice drowsily crawled out of her nest. She walked outside and felt heat on her pelt. It was past sun high, in which she was late for her training.

After the realization, Whitepaw half-dashed through the camp to the thorn barrier. When about to pass the camp entrance to head to the mossy hollow, Blossomfall stopped her.

Blossomfall blocked the apprentice's path. "It's okay," she said with a reassuring look. "I told Millie that you were said by Leafpool to rest. She said you can make up the practice tomorrow."

Whitepaw sighed with relief. "Thanks."

They both padded back into camp, and then went toward the fresh-kill pile. Blossomfall took a mouse while Whitepaw took a squirrel. They began eating once they found an empty spot in the clearing.

Whitepaw brought up the gathering again. "So, when will Bramblestar decide on who goes to the gathering?"

"We usually leave when we're able to see the moon. Then Bramblestar announces who gets to go and he gets all the cats into a patrol." Blossomfall took a bite from the prey.

Whitepaw asked, "And what do you think the other clans will announce?"

Blossomfall shrugged. "I can't say." She changed the subject. "So, do you do anything like the gathering in your Twoleg world? Any traditional celebrations?"

Whitepaw thought for a moment. "Yes, actually. There are such things as holidays. One of the holidays is Christmas, it's when Santa Claus comes to..." She stopped when she noticed Blossomfall looking at her oddly.

Blossomfall was about to ask her questions when Whitepaw predicted it. "A holiday is a day to celebrate something big and Santa Claus is the Christmas person who goes into your house at night and leaves you gifts." she added, "And Christmas is a holiday in leaf-bare."

Blossomfall nodded understandingly. "Oh." She widened her eyes in a seemingly realization. "Wait, what? Someone sneaks into your den at night? And why gifts? And a house is a den, right?"

"Yes. And yeah, some Twolegs see it as a scary thing for someone to come into your den; but it's not. Christmas is suppose to be a family thing where you see your family and have a feast and have a tree decorated..." She trailed off as she remembered the elements and activities of the holiday. "It's all just wonderful! If only you could experience it."

The warrior didn't look convinced. "It sounds great, but it doesn't sound cat-like. And why would you 'decorate' a tree?"

"It's one of the customs."

"Alright." They ended the conversation and continued eating.

The day went by slowly since Whitepaw had nothing to do. She laid in her nest and waited for the night fall so she could see if she could attend the gathering. One of the things she would definitely miss would be all the entertainment at her house. And all she can do here is talk, roam the forest, train, and sleep. But she honestly had to say it was still better than a human life.

The sun has finally gone away and the moon was replacing its position. StarClan is shown in the sky and no clouds were blocking them or the moon. Bramblestar would be definitely leading the cats to the gathering island soon.

Whitepaw was about to doze off when she heard Bramblestar shouting something out. Immediatly, the white cat scrambled out of her nest and peeked out of the apprentice den. Bramblestar was calling the cats who were going to the gathering.

Whitepaw pricked her ears to listen to the call. "...attending will be Berrynose, Mousewhisker, Icecloud, Purdy, Birchfall..." The list didn't go on that long, even though many names were told.

The final names said were, "...Brackenfur, Toadstep, and..." There was a pause. Bramblestar looked to be thinking on the last unknown name. He sighed and said, "and Whitepaw."

Whitepaw flinched with both surprise and shock. She had left her hopes of going, letting her half hope she would be at the next gathering. Bramblestar must have been thinking too much on what he should choose for decisions like these. Whitepaw waited, expecting Bramblestar to say she couldn't go, but no other message was said.

Almost every cat looked at the lastly said cat with uncertain eyes. Whitepaw would have partially expected them to, but felt even more uncomfortable than usual. Bramblestar didn't make any eye contact with anyone as he waved his tail to beckon all that would be going to the gathering.

Whitepaw crept out of the apprentice den entrance to the following cats. She slowly walked beside the crowd until she was at the back of it. She was about a tail length from the second to last cat in the crowd; she wanted space from the others until she reached the island.

Blossomfall, who had been chosen too, was seen standing ahead. The warrior began walking when she was next to Whitepaw.

Expecting to hear about the cats not approving Whitepaw at the gathering, Whitepaw instead was told by Blossomfall, "What in StarClan's name is Bramblestar thinking? I would have never expected him to do this."

Whitepaw hated saying this, but she didn't want to lie about wanting to have a conversation. "Blossomfall, would you mind leaving me alone for the night? I just want to be by myself for a while, okay?" Whitepaw hoped she didn't sound harsh.

Blossomfall nodded. "That's okay. See you tomorrow then?"

"Sure."

Blossomfall departed from the apprentice and caught up with the crowd. Whitepaw let out a stressed sigh. Though being alone was said to be bad, it let Whitepaw calm down and get back her happy feeling. Though without funny videos or games it would be a bit tougher. Her imagination would be the only happy place she could be in right now.

She then remembered something she did in school once. Her class once went outside into the grass field to take notes on what you would hear, smell, feel, and see. Whitepaw found it relaxing, if the other students hadn't of been talking to each other. Besides the other kids conversations in the way, it was like a moment of peace.

Whitepaw decided to try that again, since being in the night would be most relaxing and peaceful. She couldn't close her eyes to focus on the sounds more, so she gazed around to try to notice the forest's details.

The moonlight was casting spotlights through the tree branches and dotting the ground with blue light. Far away crickets were heard and their melody sounded clear. Whitepaw felt a cool gentle wind flow past her into the trees. Rustles in the plants were occasional but nothing would come out of it.

Up in the sky, the moon was working its way to the top along with the stars following it. Seeing the stars reminded Whitepaw of StarClan. She wondered what StarClan thought of Bramblestar's decision. She pushed the thought away to continue admiring the nature around here.

She looked around to notice she and the group had gotten out of the forest. The WindClan border was a bit far ahead; the stream flowing down the hillside as usual. Whitepaw tried to get back to her relaxed state, but couldn't. She gave up once her mind began filling with thoughts and questions about the gathering and Bramblestar's decision.

They reached the border, but went down beside it to reach the lake. The stars reflected brighter in the lake's water, sending sparkles to gleam on the water's surface. The group met with the lake's edge and went alongside it. Now within the few tail lengths, they marched on.

The cats got to the other side of WindClan territory and passed the border. The Twoleg den was seen, but no activity, except for a light on inside the building. They quickly passed it and continued onward to the tree-bridge. It was bigger than Whitepaw imagined, but it would of course be big since she was a cat.

One by one, each cat jumped onto the tree and walked across it. When it was Whitepaw's turn, she unsheathed her claws and jumped onto it. She wobbled for a few seconds before planting her claws in for support. She put a paw after one another very slowly, and with each paw step she felt more anxious. In the middle of the tree she almost slipped, her stomach churning, but got back onto the center.

She finally reached the end and carefully landed onto the island. She trotted across the sandy ground to the tall trees. She entered between two bushes and carefully wandered straight ahead. She kept going, and started to hear cats talking. She went toward the noise and found an opening. She looked past it and found herself looking at the clearing where the gathering held.

She hadn't seen so many cats in her life, or scented so many in that matter. Up ahead, she saw three figures sitting on low branches of a large tree, and three others on its roots. Whitepaw recognized it as the Great Oak. The clearing was grassy with several sand piles. StarClan and the moon were seen clearly in the sky.

Whitepaw came out into the clearing and began to find a place to settle for the gathering.

**Quite a lot of randomness here, but I wanted to write a few things.**

**Whitepaw was able to go to the gathering? I know it seems a little unrealistic, but Bramblestar is having a bit of a hard time wondering what to do in situations like this. And so I'm making that my reason. **

**Well, Halloween is coming in a month and something may be coming...or not. Idk. Well something may be coming...on my YouTube channel. Yes I have one. I don't like advertising anything, but...**

**My channel is called The Imaginator7. Check it if you want, but I don't have any Warriors cats stuff on it, only Let's Plays and Webkinz stuff. I might do Warriors speedpaints some day.**

**Well that's it for now. See you later.**


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